'Fruits Basket' Sequel Confirms End Date

Fruits Basket Another is reportedly coming to an abrupt end after the next chapter, according to series creator Natsuki Takaya.

Takaya took to Twitter to make the announcement on Tuesday. She called the upcoming chapter "tentatively" the last,according to Anime News Network's translation. She would like to create more one-shots in the future, but beyond that the serialized story is over.

次回はまた忘れた頃に更新となると思います、そして一応最終回ですー。

— 高屋奈月＠フルバナ2巻発売中 (@n_takaya77) August 6, 2018

Fruits Basket Another is the sequel to Takaya's original series, Fruits Basket. The manga is already running on an irregular schedule, with little warning when a chapter is on the way. True to form, Takaya has not announced when the final installment will arrive, either.

Fruits Basket follows Tohru Honda, an orphaned girl who lives with the family of a friend. Each member of that family is possessed by a spirit of the Chinese zodiac, with one additional cousin who is possessed by a cat spirit. All of them transform into their animal counterpart whenever they are exposed to stress, embarrassment or physical touch.

The series ran from 1998 to 2006, with a relatively successful anime adaptation as well.
With Fruits Basket Another, Takaya jumped forward ten years in time within the story. Rather than Tohru, it follows a girl named Sawa, who befriends two young girls in the Sohma family, just as Tohru did. When the series began, it was only meant to commemorate the anniversary of the original. Takaya said that it would be short-lived and that Tohru and her friends would not appear, though she said they might be referenced and alluded to.

Fruits Basket Another began on HanaLaLa online, a free digital-only manga publisher. However, it was carried over to Hakusensha's Manga Park website last year, and has now been sold in two physical volumes. A third is on the way, and it will be the last, as Takaya originally intended.

Takaya, now 45, has a storied career in the manga world. Before Fruits Basket, she worked on Phantom Dream and Tsubasa: Those with Wings, both published by Hana to Yume and Hakusensha.

Afterward, she had another series called Twinkle Stars, which ran from 2007 to 2011. It was also serialized by Hana to Yume and published by Hakusensha in a total of 11 volumes. Before moving on to Fruits Basket Another, she created Liselotte and Witch's Forest, a series that is still technically on hiatus to this day.